Former boyfriend of California blast victim arrested

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — A former boyfriend of a woman killed in a California office building explosion has been arrested on suspicion of possessing an unregistered destructive device, the FBI said Thursday.

The arrest of Stephen Beal, 59, followed a search of his Long Beach residence by authorities, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement.

He was not being held in connection with Tuesday’s explosion and was expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana later Thursday.

Beal, a rocket enthusiast and actor in several short films, had been in a relationship with Ildiko Krajnyak — the woman killed in the explosion — but they had recently broken up, according to his son, Nathan Beal.

He and his father build sport rockets, which are fuelled by a propellant called hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, that Nathan Beal said is commercially and legally available at specialty hobby stores.

Asked about the FBI allegation that his father possessed a destructive device, Nathan Beal said, “That seems highly unlikely.”

Authorities have not disclosed what kind of explosive material was used in the blast.

The biggest of the father-son rockets used about 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) of fuel divided among multiple motors, he said.

“Probably what they found were motor cases made out of aluminum,” he said.

State documents show Stephen Beal and Krajnyak as officers in a skin care business called I&S Enterprises.

Authorities have declined to publicly say if they believed the victim was the target of the blast.

But one official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press the woman had been the intended recipient of an explosive package. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to disclose details about the investigation.

Remnants of a device were found inside the badly damaged spa where the powerful explosion shook the city of Aliso Viejo, about 50 miles …read more

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